


Lucky

by zahnie



Category: Doctrine of Labyrinths - Sarah Monette
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Conversations, Felix Harrowgate Being a Jerk, Gen, Harry Potter References, which isn't an official tag but it should be
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 05:18:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18543070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zahnie/pseuds/zahnie
Summary: Doctrine of Labyrinths Modern Ivy League College AU one-shot.





	Lucky

**Author's Note:**

> Set between The Virtu and The Mirador (emotionally I mean, since it's an AU).
> 
> So Laura and I decided to do a Tumblr fic war for DoL (where you alternate chapters of the same fic in different genres, trying to wrest back control of the narrative), with me doing a Modern College AU and her doing a Fairy Tale AU. In terms of battles, it was a draw since we had one exchange and then ceased 'hostilities'. Anyway, I decided to share a version of my part here on AO3 since I'm quite fond of it :D
> 
> This is meant to be a one-shot so it is complete. Enjoy!

Mildmay

We were walking around the quad to Felix's appointment when I asked him why some of the frat guys called him 'Lucky', like he was a golden retriever.

He glared at me like he knew I was dumb but couldn't believe I was _this_ fucking stupid and said, “It's Latin.”

That jarred something in my memory and I blurted, “Like in the Harry Potter movies?”

“The _what_?”

“Felix Felicis. It's the luck potion,” I said.

Felix rolled his eyes. “Well, it's still Latin, even after it has been used in movies,” he said.

Harry Potter was books too and the books came first. I'd expected Felix to say something about that. He hated movie adaptations. Maybe he didn't know. Felix had weird gaps where he didn't know popular culture. He played it off like he was just too fancy and rich for that shit.

We walked the rest of the way in silence.

~~

Felix

Giancarlo looked up from his screen and closed his laptop quickly when he saw me standing in the doorway. “Felix! Thank you for coming by,” he said.

“You wanted to see me?” I asked, since I couldn't think of anything less clichéd to say.

He motioned for me to take a seat. “Yes. We have an offer for you.”

I sat down warily. “Indeed,” I said.

Giancarlo cleared his throat. “We'd like you to take a section of University 101. If you are... feeling up to it.”

I stared at him. “The 'welcome to post-secondary' class? You want _me_ to teach it.” I didn't even know that class was available in the spring semester.

“It will be mostly transfers and international students at this time of year,” he said, looking down at the papers on his desk. Then, he met my eyes. “We thought these students could benefit from your, uh, unique experiences.”

Meaning I could tell them what not to do, so they wouldn't end up having a mental breakdown, running off to California, and generally being a public relations nightmare like me.

When I didn't answer, Giancarlo leaned forward. “If you aren't up to teaching yet, I understand,” he said, almost gently.

“I can do it,” I heard myself say.

“Wonderful!” he said, smiling. “Glad to hear it. I'll put things into motion. We'll email you the details.”

I stood up. “Thank you.”

As I turned to go, Giancarlo said, “We're all rooting for you, Felix.”

I looked back over my shoulder and smiled at his obvious lie. “Of course,” I said. “Why wouldn't you be?”

His own smile vanished. I left before he could think of a response.

Mildmay was waiting for me on one of the hall benches. He looked up from his phone as I approached. “So?” he asked.

I didn't stop walking and he had to scrabble to his feet to follow me. “He wants me to teach a class,” I said, “ Not that it will matter to you.” Mildmay would be following me around anyway, whether I was actively teaching or just staying in my apartment sulking with Gideon.

“Yeah? That's good,” Mildmay said.

I didn't reply.

~~

Mildmay

Even nice things piss Felix off so I didn't say more about the new class. I wasn't worried about him teaching again. If he couldn't handle it, he could just push it off to somebody else. And really, if anything was going to make him crack, it'd be one of those awful, endless, fancy parties we had to go to all the time.

Felix was walking fast again and I struggled to keep up. A couple weeks ago, I'd heard one of the frat guys say I was pretty much Felix's emotional support animal, following him around all the time, getting let in where I didn't belong. If he'd said it to my face, I would've told him those support dogs had waaay more of a fucking clue on how to help than I did, and honestly, Felix might have been better off with one instead of me. Except Felix would have no idea how to take care of a dog.

We reached the exit out of the English administration building. Most of the college doors were made of solid wood, which meant they were heavy as fuck, as well as being antiques that can't be wired for handicapped buttons. If he was in a good mood, Felix might've held the door for a second after going though it so I'd get a chance to grab it. Not today. I jammed the end of my cane at the fast-closing gap and managed to keep the door from closing all the way. As I was grabbing the wall to balance, I heard someone behind me call my name. I turned my head.

Her clacking heels echoed off the roof as Mehitabel hurried down the hall. She was frowning. I shoved the door with my shoulder, got it open far enough so I could lean against it, and held it open for her as she arrived in the doorway. “Hi,” I said.

Mehitabel's frown turned into half-smile. “Hi yourself,” she said. “My phone died. Can I borrow yours for a moment?”

“Sure.” I fished it out of my coat pocket and handed it to her.

“ _Thank_ you,” she said, flicking the screen open. I followed her outside.

Felix was waiting impatiently a little way down the path. He smiled at Mehitabel. “Good afternoon, Tabby,” he said.

She held up her hand at him without looking. She finished dialling and brought the phone up to her ear. “Yes, hello, this is Mehitabel. I'm on my way.” She paused. “Well, that's his fault for rescheduling rehearsal, isn't it? See you in ten minutes.” She ended the call.

“It will take you fifteen minutes to even walk to the parking lot,” Felix said.

Mehitabel glanced up at him. “I'm an actress. Ten minutes means half an hour,” she said, breezily. She handed my phone back to me. “You're a lifesaver, Mildmay,” she said, smiling warmly at me.

I could feel my face heating up a bit. “No problem.”

“We'll be done at 9, see you after?” she asked.

“Maybe,” I said, after an awkward pause where we both didn't look at Felix and he didn't say anything. I could go out without him but not for long and not without him knowing about it. Because of being on probation. I was lucky not to be in jail, but it was hard to remember sometimes.

Her frown came back for a second and then she smoothed it away. “I'll call you then,” Mehitabel said. “We could run late after all.”

“Okay,” I said.

“Bye, Felix,” she said, over her shoulder as she glided away.

Felix sarcastically half-bowed in her direction because that's what he's like. Then, he turned to me. “Come on. I want to arrive back at my office before nightfall.”

“Okay,” I said, because he was waiting for me to say something. There was nothing else I'd _want_ to say with a fucking audience. Regular people watched Felix like he was going to start a one-man street theatre performance, especially if they knew the stories about him. They'd watch even more if they knew the stories about me.

“All right then,” he said.

Off we went.


End file.
